It is better to be opposed by an enemy than to be adrift in meaninglessness, for the simulacrum of an enemy lends purpose to actions whose nihilism would otherwise be self-evident.

The real and most pressing question raised by any social problem is: 'How do I appear concerned and compassionate to all my friends, colleagues, and peers?'

Political abstractions can disguise or change the meaning of the most elementary realities.

Henceforth, there is to be no testing oneself against the best, with the possibility, even the likelihood, of failure: instead, one is perpetually to immerse o…